Creative consulting, A'DUO (2017-8)

A’duo (b.1978, Hunan province, China) is of Tujia ethnic minority, a singer-songwriter based in Beijing, China. She is a pop musician who gained fame in the early 2000’s, she also worked as an actress but was known mainly for her talent in singing and dancing. She had put her career on hold by 2010 and had planned to reinvent her image for her then-upcoming album - Reborn, which was scheduled to be released in late 2018.

Soft Box was commissioned as creative consultants to help create an image that conveyed the musician’s minority background and the style of music in the album Reborn that she described as “futuristic ethnic”. We collaborated with Chinese designer Wang Yang, who specialises in accessories design that utilises 3D printing technology.

Our initial mood board was used as guidance for maintaining consistent styling for the client and overall visual direction for media production. Elements such as pleats, headdresses, and metal accessories are taken from the Tujia traditional clothing, modernized through the abstraction of forms, the use of natural and pastel tones, as well as contemporary components such as plastics, copper, and mesh.

The cover art for “Reborn”, and Wang Yang’s bespoke headpieces featured in the client’s promotional photo shoot.